The Portland daily press., 1887-06-17
A FORTUNE THROUGH LAzINEss.
How Cen. Buckner Acquired a For
tune Through His Father-in-Law's
Procrastination.

Olm0n b0lVar Buckner, named alter the
South American liberator, the Democratic
candidate for Governor OF Kentucky at the
approaching election, is well known through
out the country as the Confederate general
who surrendered Fort Donelson and its gar
rison to Gen. Grant. According to an ex-
change, he was born in 1928 and Is native
of Kentucky, from which State he was ap-
pointed a cadet to the military academy,
graduating in 1874, and assigned to the in
fantry arm Of the service; was twice bre-
yeted for gallant conduct in the Mexican
war, at the battles of Cherubusco and Moli-
no del Rey. He was appointed q captain in
the commissary department in 1852 and
resigned his commission in 1856 to take
charge of his property interests in Chicago.
At the outbreak of the civil war he return
| ed to Kentucky, and was appointed by the
| governor of that State-whose sympathies
were strongly with the Confederacy-the
! commander of the State troops, from which
position he became Confederate general.
In order to secure to himself his Chicago
property before leaving to join the Southern
| cause he made deed of trust to his brother
in-law, Lieut. Henry w. Kingsbury, United
States army. This ung officer. who COM
manded light battery of the Fifth Artillery
1862, of wounds received in that action. As
| he left no reconveyance of the property or
| explanation of the transaction, though the
purport OF it was generally understood
among the near relatives and intimate
friends, Gen. Buckner after the war had CEN
siderable difficulty in regaining his property,
and in which he only succeeded after a
protracted lawsuit.
The Chicago proyertd is worth more than
| S5C0,Cc0. 1t came to Gen. Buckner as the es-
tate Of bis first wife, the daughter of the late
Major Julius j. b. Kingsbury, u. s. A. How
| the Major acquired a large fortune Is one Of
the strange incidents OF old army frontier
| life. Shortly after graduating in 1928, and
becoming lieutenant in the Second Infan-
| try, he was assigned to duty at Fort Dear
born, the site Of which is now that of the
| city Of Chicago. He acquired, through an
accidental transaction. the title Of small
piece Of ground outside Of the government
reservation. When he was ordered to anoth-
| er station he made arrangements, on advan-
| tage0us terms, as he then deemed. to dispose
| of it but failed through not keeping his ap-
| pointment with the party intending TO pur-
| chase. kfngsbury was proverbial for his
laziness; was never known Of his own ac-
| cord to be on time or meet any specified en-
| gagement 1t was saying that If he went
| anywhere to stay but day, il he unpacked
| his trunk, IL would be weeks before he would
| get away. de would put off from day to day
making the necessary preparations to leave
| and at last only when ne was forced to 1t.
| This procrastinating and lazy habit of his
| finally was the cause of his dismissal from
the army in 1856. He went on leave of alb
senee, overstaid it for several months and
| paid no attention whatever to the repeated
orders Of the War Department to rejoln his
| regiment He was then a major in the
| Sixth Infantry. The authorities, annoyed
beyond what was deemed proper en-
| durance, dropped him from the service. Very
| many attempts were made during his army
/ life to purchase from him the agttifCagO prop
| erty, which each year, Became more valuable,
/ but they all failed, though several times agree
/ ing TO sell, by his procrastination in signing
and acknowledging the deeds; at one time 1t
would be the distance he would have to trav-
! .el from his military post to the Oihce OF the
| court official before whom the instrumer
would have to be executed; at another I'll
| il would be some other excuse OF tri'
| nature. and so, when he died, which
shortly after his dismissal, he was s.
| possession of the land he had acquired
Young lieutenant at Fort Dearbor
wife died before him, and there
| two heirs to his estate-his dar
wife of Capt Buckner, and his s.
liant young officer, mortally wom
tietam. The laziness OF Mai =
was more than half mil to
| his children.
Gems. Grant and Buckne war,
| renewed their old army int IN the
disastrous days of the Fe .rd fail
ure, which reduced Gran se Of alb
solute want, Buckner the very
first to tender pecuniaT Je, private
ly inclosing a check fc requesting
the acceptance of sake of auld
lang Syne. 1t WOu' L---knOwn
had not Gen. Gran .elingly alluded
to it as another animosities had
| ceased to exist JSt OF the partlcl-
pants in the Gen. Buckner was
one of the d, at Gen. Grants fu-
| neral